Vehicle suspension



June 9, 1925.s 1,541,526

w. s. PIERCE. JR

VEHICLE SUSPENSION Filed April 19, 19721 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented June 9, 1925.

WINSILOWS. TIERCE, EER, GF BAYVILLE,"NEVJ YORK.

VEHICLE suspension.

Application eiedaprn 19, 1921. serial no. $21,553.

To 'all vlwhom t may concern.' A

, Be it .known that I, IVINsLoW S'. Pinnen, Jn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bayville, in the county of Nassau, State of' New York, have invented certainV new and useful Improvements in vVehicle Suspensions; and I do :hereby declare the following to be a full, c1ear,.-an.d exact description ofthe invention, .sueltas will enable others skilled in .the art-to which. it apper` taiiis to makeandusethesame.

The present invention relates to asuspension for vehicles :and involves a formof construction renderingit particularly suite-d to automobiles for improvingtheir .riding qualities.Y y l In various devices Vheretofore contrived for enhancing the ridingqualities of automobiles, such for .example as the full-elliptic, the cantilever, the three-quarter platform springs, andythe lWestinghouse. air spring, the governing principle in their de sign and -operation has been yto sec-ure' a maximum travel of the. axle :relatively to the chassis frame; for a, given increase of spring, tension. Compared With'a semi-el-y lipticr spring havingb'oth its ends; pivotally secured to the chassis frame,'thevmovement of the axle relatively tothe frame fior a given. spring'tension with the ffull .elliptic and canti-lever springs is approximately twice as great; with the :three-quarter `pilatform about one and one-half timesfasgreat, and. in the case odi the IVestinghouseuair spring,`the increaseinthe travel ofthe axle can be made to .vary with the pressure adjustment. lhile inal-l 4of thesetypes of devices thetravel of the axle isl increased and the riding of. lvthe automobile consequently made smoother, where aspring is employedA asin the full elliptic,cantilever and -tliree-qgual-ter platform suspensions, :a tension is set `upf above the initial tension due to the Weight of ,the car which `is greatly in excess of that necessary to restore the spring-tofnormal, thus causing -ashock tol be transmitted tothe body of, the vehicle when an`A irregularity in -ztheroadv is encountered'. Thepresent invention has Vfor anch-ject the provisiony of a vehicle-suspension soV constructed as to secure a1lengthened.travelot theV axle relatively to Vthe frai'ne,4 accompanied at `the Sametime by a minimum increase in springy ten-sion. 'In carrying*l out his object, thev invention-1 comprehend'sas one of its parts a suspension of .theftype comprisinga resilient member mounted on the axle and connected to the frame, the latterVhaving-on the resilient member a point of suspension movable with the axle. relatively to the frame.. The suspension includes in its construction connecting means between lthe point oflsus'pe'nsion and the axle which is constructed and arranged to restrain the movement of the :point of suspension to less than the normal unrestrained movement thereof relative to the movement of the axle; y A

In oner formA olf construction the resilient member, mounted on the axle, is `pivotall'y connected to the frame, the axle IJreferabl)v having movable connection With the latter; and the means connecting the point of suspension and the resilient ,member are constructed and arranged so as to reduce the movement of4 the point of suspension through an arc centering,` on the pivotal point to less than its yare from the same center proportional to that tlirougl-iowhich the axle moves.l lThe movementl of the `Joint of-v sus Dension. thus beino arrested soL l Y e that its travel in an arc about the pivotal point ofthe resilient member is less than the .arc` proportionail to that through,which the axle moves,an increase in :tension is set up Whichis. sufficient to restore the resilient member to normal position. vIt has heretofore been pointed out that .a small increase in tensionvvill suffice. to restore the `resilient member to? its normalvposition` and. therefore the reduction intraveloff the point of sus pension as `described to' produce the increased tension need be only v-a slight amount. The means, therefore, connecting a point on the resilient member With the pointV of suspensionis, in accordance with the invention, made adjustable to vary its set,and -tov regulate the reduction in travel anch the consequent increasein tension. Means forefifecting this adjustment of tension `increase -isof the highest importa-nce in tliepractical application of a vehicle suspensionof the type toy Which `the invention relatesyand in. its successful operation.

Irrespective of the movements of therazxle and the point of suspension in arcs about the pivotalv p-oint of the resilient member, theparts may be sofconstructed and arr;- ranged that the point of' suspension. is movable With 'theagxle relatively to the frame, and inwco-relation to .the movement of the, axle', whereby to reduce the proportional VIA increase of tension set up by movements of the axle and resilient member relatively to the frame.

The resilient member may consist of a spring, and the means for reducing the movement of the point of suspension relatively to the axle may comprise a lever connected to the point of suspension, a second lever mounted on the trame and connected to a point on the spring, and a connecting rod between the levers.

Furthermore, the means connecting the point of suspension and the resilient member may consist of bell cranks, one of which is pivoted to a bracket .secured at one point on'the frame and the other to a second bracket secured at another point on the frame. In this construction, one arm of each of the bell crank levers is connected together bymeans ot a connectingrod and the other arms connected respectively to the axle and the end of the spring. In the specific embodiment of the invention dcscribed hereinafter', the bell crank lever, which has one or" its arms connected tothe end ot' the spring, is eccentric-ally pivoted in its bracket and is secured in different eccentric positions on the pivot by means of an eccentric ,hub and a lock nut.

The invention comprehends as another of its parts the provision of means for absorbing extreme shocks such as would ordinarily subject the passengers of an antoniobile to a severe jolt, and possibly drive the axle of the car against the trame with the resulting danoer of injury to the parts. In this arrangement, the suspension comprises a resilient member mounted on the axle and pivotally connected to the frame, the frame having on the resilient member a point of suspension movable with the axle relatively to the frame, and means connecting the point of suspension with a point on the resilient member whiclris constructed and arranged first to reduce the movement otl the point of suspension through an arc centering'at the pivotal point to less than its arc from the same center proportional to 4that through which the axle moves, and finally to reverse the movement of the point of suspension relatively to the axle. Thus, during the initial period of depression of the resilient member, the movement of the point ot suspension in its arc about the pivotal point` isrednced below the arc from the same center proportional to that through which the axlemoves to create an increase in tension, `in accordance with the arrangement described with reference to the first part of my invention; but while the axle is still traveling toward the frame, due to an unusually large depression, the direction of movement ot the point of snspension is finally reversed. This action is reversely repeated while the resilient member is being restored to its normal position.v In this form of construction, the means connecting the resilient member and the point of suspension is likewise made adjustable to vary the travel and set the latter.

In the specific form ot such means described hereinafter the bell crank lever having one arm connected to the spring is `in engagement through the other arm'thereot with a cam interposed between thevtwo bell crank levers, the cam being connected by means ot' a connecting rod with the bell crank lever which has one arm connected to the axle.

It will be understood that in the different forms of my invention described hereinbefore, the chassis trame might have at both ends of the resilient member points of suspension movable with the axle relatively to the frame. In this construction the means connecting the points of suspension with a` point on the resilient member are constructed and arranged to reduce the movement of the point-s of suspension relatively to the axle.

The preferred embodiment ot the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. l is a view in pension; 1 i f Fig. 2 is a detailsectional view along the line 2 2 of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a modified form of the suspension;

Fig. 4t is a sectional'detail view along the line (lf-1l oi Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a view inelevation ot' a further modification showing the application. of the suspension toa full-elliptic spring;'and

Fig. 6 is a modification otthe'suspension shown in Fig. 5. v v

Referring to Fig'. 1, the chassis frame of the vehicle is represented at l, and pivotally connected to the end vof the frame at 2 s a semi-elliptical leaf springS. `Thespring is securedto-v the axle-ofthe vehicle about midway between its ends by means of clamps 5. ADirectly above the axle 4, and also secured by clampsxis a bracket-plate (Spivoted in which *is one endot a rod 7, the other end of which has pivotal connection at 8 with abell cranklever 9. Above and to one side of the axle l is a bracket lO which is boltedtothe Jframe-1 and serves to provide at its end a pivotal mounting at l1 for the bell crank lever'9. Situated at a point beyond the end ot the spring' and bolted to the trame l is abracket l2 in which is pivotally vm-ounted a bell crank lever 18, one armof which is connected to the bell crank lever 9 byy means of a connecting rodlil, and the other armbeingconnectedwith Van end 1.5 of the spring-3 through shackle 1G..

The effective lengths of the arms of bell elevation of the sus- Al t) on one end of the shaft 21, the latter beingy provided at its other end with a head 25 bearing against one ot `the sides of the bracket. 'The hub 17 is adjustably held against rotation in thebell rcrank lever 13 byV the clamp 13a andis yrotatable y'on the shaft 24? at the eccentric bear'i-ng 17a. Adjustments of the bell crank lever 13in dit'- ferent-positions on the hub 17 are made by manipulating the clamp 13". In the modified vformAot-the. invention illustrated iii-Fig. 3a cam wheel 2O ispivoted at 21 in thebracket 12, and connected eccentrically as 22 wit-h an arm of the bell crank'lever 9 through connecting rodv 111.- One arm of the bell crank 'lever' 13 is termed tocoact with the cam surfaces 23 andI 23m-cn the periphery of the cam wheel /7 and the other arm is connected to the end ofthe spring. I

In both the `forms. illustrated' in Figs. 1 and 3 the connecting rod Alirconsists of two parts, the end of which. are threaded and' joined together bya turn buckle 23 for the purpose oi' adjustment to the normal set of the spring.

lVith respect to the operation of the suspension illustrated in Fig. 1, when an` ir` regularity in the road is encountered suc-h as will raise the axle toward the frame 1, the spring 3 will move with the axle toward the frame, but the end thereof which lis pivoted to the bell crank lever 13 will travel toward the frame in an arc about the pivotal point 2,"an amount less than the proportional arm from the same pivotal point through which the axle moves depending upon the leverage of the means connecting'the point on the spring above the axle. with the movable end of the'spring. Ti'hen the. axle et reaches the limit of its movement toward the frame 1 the spring, having been constrained to move aless amount, will be depressed to set up a tension therein only suilicient to restore it to its normal position.

lVith respect to the operation of the suspension illustrated in Fig. 3, when the axle 1 is Jforced toward the frame 1 by an irregularity in the road, the springV travels with the axle, and likewise the end thereon` or point of suspension 15, during the initial period-of depression. During this period the arm of bellcrank lever 13, in eng-agement ,with'the cam 20, is in contact withthe declining cam surface 23, the movement of the axle 4 being transmitted to thev cam 20, toV cause its rotation,thro,ugh the bell crank lever 9 and connectingrods I7 and 14. Continued movement ot theaxletoward the frame as in the case ot' an extreme shock .causes the rotation ofthe cam 20 to :bring the arm of the bell crank lever 131m engagement with .the cam7 yinto engagement with the inclined cam surface 23. This results in the bell crank lever 13 being rotated in the reverse direction, or countei-cloclmvise, and in consequence the point'ot'suspension 15 is moved away from the trame 1 or in a direction the reverse of the movement during the initial period of depression. A tension is therefore set up in the' spring which resists the continued movement ot' the axle toward the iranfie Land tends toV restore the spring to normal. It willbe evident that during the return movement 01"- the axle to its normal position the arm ci `the belliyl cranl'lever 13 in engagement with ihe cam 20, being in contact lwith the cani vsurface 23 causes the vpoint ot suspension to move toward the frame, thus reducing Ythe tension ot' the spring, and iinally the poi-nty oi' suspension will again.bedepressed when the arm of the bell crank lever vassumes its initial positioncn `the venter extremity off the cam surface 23a.

.Referring to AFigs. 5 and G, the suspension is shown' applied to full-elliptic springf3. In the construction illustrated in Fig. 57 the means connecting the point ot suspension 15 with a point on the spring 3 above Ythe axle 1 includes two bell crank levers 9 and 13 mounted on a bracket 10 secured to the frame 1, similar to the corresponding parts in the constructions illus,- trated in Figs. 1 to si, inclusive. As indicated in the drawing, the arm 13n ot bell crank 13 is of a length less than the remainder of the arms of bell cranks 13 and 9 so that the upward travel of the pointrof suspension 15 will be less than the upward travel of the axle 4 by an. amount depending upon the ratio of these arms. Assuming the arm 13"L Ot'bell crank 13 to be halt the length of the arm 9a of bell crank 9, the distance through which point ot suspension 15 would move for a given depression would be halt' that ot the axle et.

The connecting means between the point of suspension 15 andthe point on the resilient member above the axle 4c may be simplified, as shown in Fig. 6, by eliminating the bell cranklevers 9 and 13 and substituting therefor. a single lever pivotally connected at 16a with the shackle or connection 1G connecting the lever with the point of suspension 1o on the upper halt of the spring.

In this form the travel of the point of suspension l5 relatively to the axle will be in the ratio ot the lever arms 9 and 1B". The effective length of 'the lever arm 9 may be varied by an adjustable sliding connection with the connecting rod 7, this connection consisting of a slot SO in the lever arm Q having an adjustable slide 29 therein to which the connecting rod 7 is pivotet at S. The connecting rod T :is provided with a turn buckle T so that its length may be varied in aecordamJ-e with the adjustment ot the sliding connection and the initial set or" the spring. 'lhe lever may fui-th Y' more be adjusted in different positions by means ot the eccentric connection with the bracket l0, which is constructed and operates like the corresponding part in Figs. l to 4l inclusive.

In both the constructions illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6, the axle el is rigidly cenneetet tothe frame by means o a radins rod QG having' a turn buckle 2S thlrein, which is pivotally Connected at 2'? to a brani-:et Q9 secured to the frame. The operation oi these 'forms oli' the suspension will be understoeil from the description et the operation oif the forms illustrated in Figs, l to Ll, inclusive.

I claim:

l.. The combination with a vehicle having a chassis frame and axle, of a suspension comprising a resilient member mounted on the axle and pivotally connected to the "tr-ame', the iframe having on the resilient member a point ol suspension movable with the axle relatively to the frame, and means connecting the point of suspension with a point on the resilient member which is eonstructed and arranged first to reduce the movement of the point of suspension through an are centering at the pivotal point to less than its are from the same center proportional to that through which the axle moves, and finally to reverse the movement of the point of suspension relatively to the axle. l

2. l'lhe combination with a vehicle having a chassis trame and axle, of a suspension comprising a resilient member mounted on the axle and pivotally connected to the frame, the frame having on the resilient member a point or' suspension movable With the axle relative to the frame, and in corelation to the movement of the axle, first in the same and finally in reverse direction to the axle, whereby first to reduce and then to increase the proportional increase of spring tension set up by movements of the axle and spring relatively to the frame.

3. The combination With a vehicle having a chassis trame and axle, of a. suspension comprising a resilient member mounted on the axle, the frame having on theresilient member a point of suspension movable with the axle relatively to the frame, and in eorelation to the movement of the axle, first in the same and finally in the reverse direction to the axle, whereby first to reduce and then to increase the proportional increase o'lE spring tension set up by movementsv of the axle and spring relatively to theframe.

ln testimony whereof I affix my signature WINSLOIV S. PIERCE, Je. 

